


Scars For Inspection

by greglet



Series: Spacesuits and Satellites [2]
Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, First Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-08 15:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11649225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greglet/pseuds/greglet
Summary: After a particularly perfect and leading date, Mindy is expecting the rest of the night to continue on the high, but something small and provoking attempts to sidetrack it.





	1. Chapter 1

Mark had dumped his rain-jacket over the side of Mindy’s couch as Mindy discarded her bag by the kitchen counter. Her palm sat on the countertop, her fingers drumming in impatience. Mark's hands rested on his hips, his lip chewed between his teeth as he watched Mindy watching him. 

“Oh, fuck it-” His words were as rushed as he was, striding over to her to kiss her immediately. His hands moved from her cheeks into her hair and down her side to the small of her back. Boots and shoes were kicked off as Mindy’s jacket fell to the floor. Mindy walked Mark backwards, not daring to separate their lips even as Mark tumbled back onto her couch and she fell forward with him. It had been too long, too subtle and gentle and they were both bored with it - it had been too long getting to know one another when they were really after something more. 

Breathing became laboured in the rush as Mindy’s left hand cupped at Mark’s face while her right ran through his hair, yet neither of them could bring themselves to stop for air. Mark pushed Mindy’s glasses up onto her head while Mindy brought a hand out his hair to unzip his hoodie. With a small shift to have Mindy’s knees either side of Mark’s waist, he tried to pull her lower against him with a flat palm sitting heavy at the small of her back. Mindy tried to follow the signal, but her loose glasses fell down from their perch, hitting Mark in the face and causing an unexpected fit of laughter. Mindy gently removed them from where they cracked over Mark’s nose to place them on her coffee table. 

“Oh no,” She apologised through her giggles. “I’m sorry.”

“S’okay, they can fix broken noses these days.” Mark replied, pinching the bridge of his nose and wincing. “Why are your glasses made of steel?” 

“They’re not, I promise.” Mindy assured, lifting Mark’s hand away to gently kiss the side of his nose where a red score appeared. “You’re not bleeding, just scratched.” 

“Injured in the first five minutes, I can’t believe it.” 

“Are you too sore to continue?” She teased as she sat back on him looking a little dishevelled, “We could do this another night, if you’re not feeling up to it.” 

“No, I’m fine, I’m definitely up for it.” Mark affirmed as he sat up to run a finger under her jaw and bring her lips back to his. They were both impatient to get to skin as their hands ran up shirts and pulled at buttons on jeans. Neither of them had been under any illusion as to how tonight would end - the affectionately flirty dinner in the back booth of an unknown restaurant, as well as the prolonged privacy without any interruptions from press or fans alike, set it up nicely. They were finally alone together and finally finished ‘getting to know’ each other. 

She sighed briefly between viscid kisses as Mark shuffled her legs around his waist before sitting up. “What’re you doing?” 

“No room here, moving next door.” He replied quickly as he carried her through, pausing to lean against her doorframe for a longer kiss that brought a short moan from Mark. After his mind cleared enough for him to keep going, he made his way to sit at the edge of Mindy’s bed. She sat up from his lap, intending on pushing him back, but his subtle resistance had her wordlessly questioning what. 

“Off.” Tugging on her hem of her shirt, they only broke apart long enough to pull the shirt from her head and let Mark drop it off to his left. His right hand went immediately to traverse the soft planes of skin as Mindy’s hands were running under Mark’s shirt, asking the same of him. She didn’t get the glance of him that he had of her since she was more interested in exploration by touch than sight. Jeans had been quickly flung to the floor following the shirts and Mark had led Mindy by her hands up to the middle of her bed. Mindy took a moment to sit back, run a hand through her hair and breathe, the sight she opened half lidded eyes to was enough to stop time around her. 

“Oh-” She couldn’t stop the surprise leaving her lips while she stared, almost dizzy from realisation.

“What?” Worry clear in his tone, Mindy couldn’t remove her eyes long enough to quell any concerns. “ _What_?” 

“I’ve never… seen it before,” Mindy crawled slowly over her bed to Mark who was now piqued with stress. She reached out to let her fingers run over the scar on Mark’s abdomen. “I forgot about it.” 

She let her thumb graze it, feeling the scar tissue in it’s depth. It all came too quickly that the thumbnail-width gauge in Mark’s side was the physical emblem for everything that had happened. Mindy thought on his as she examined it, thinking how something so small caused so many months of chaos for the whole world. And how something that size was directly responsible for almost taking Mark’s life several different times over, meanwhile, in a way, it sort of pushed them together. She struggled with how she felt about it, her battle etched in a pull of her brow. She supposed, however, now was not the time for a debate - especially when she already knew the conclusion; it was a part of him and she would love it like the rest. 

“Does it bother you?” Mark asked, his voice quiet and hesitant while his eyes searched hers for an answer. Mindy shook her head with a soft smile as she raised her left hand to sit over his cheek. 

“No,” She replied simply before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. To prove her word, she pushed a little back from him and bent down. Her hand remained against his cheek as she pressed her lips to the scar tissue, sending all the care into it that she had pent up from all those years watching him from her satellites. “Not at all.” She felt him sigh in relief from under her as she made her way back to his jawline. 

“I’m just glad you made it back,” Her hand covered his scar as her brow piqued, “scars and all.”

Mindy grinned after she assessed him with a bitten lip and a hot blush as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders to kiss him harshly, trying to convey even the bare minimum of what she felt for him.


	2. Chapter 2

When she woke the next morning, her head on his chest and an arm strewn over him, she stretched out her limbs and curled her toes. It felt early, but she wasn’t sure it was with the streams of light running under her blinds. Not that it mattered, Mindy supposed, she had the day off and she presumed they wouldn’t be moving very far. She sighed, feeling mellow and warm and lax. It was an oddly solid feeling that sat with her now. One that told her she never really believed all her worries about if Mark would have ever felt the same, one that said she always knew she'd end up here. But, that was hindsight talking and it was always easy to predict the future when it had already passed.

Rubbing at her eyes, she yawned and felt herself sleepy but recharged after her night. Mindy tried not to rustle the covers too much or move too quickly as she dragged fingers through her hair, trying to calm what she could feel was thick waves and not the soft tresses she had styled the night before. Once she had rubbed under her eyes again, removing any sticky spots of mascara that had slipped, and prayed she wasn’t missing anything or had given herself black eyes, she stopped and lay at peace for a moment. 

It crossed her mind that she could be in Beth’s shoes soon - worried and unable to be publicly affectionate in case of global fuss. Not that she was that type of person, but she wasn’t averse to holding hands or hanging off his arm like she had been when they left the restaurant last night. She smiled at the thought of how easy it had been to do that, that she done it without thinking. Mark had drawn her in too smoothly for her to realise when the space between them had disappeared over the course of the night. 

It came back to her in a quick moment how startled she had been when seeing his scar. She didn’t mean to be so surprised, she hadn’t meant for him to take it the wrong way as if it was an issue. She had just forgotten about it. It had been so long since it had been mentioned or thought of that it all rushed back at once. Moving her left hand from under her chin down past the edge of her sheet, she let her middle finger graze it slowly. Her battle with it last night had been so brief, she never had the chance to linger in the emotion over it, although part of her still wondered why she even would. Mindy was already beyond the debate, she truly took it as a part of him but, it still made her mind run. 

Mindy felt Mark wake, the subtle change in his breathing told her as much as his hand raising to rub at his eyes.

“G’morning.” Mindy said quietly, her smile audible as she moved her hand away from his scar.

“Morning,” Mark replied, his voice still groggy as his hand rubbed gently over Mindy’s side. “Is it morning?” 

“Dunno.” Mindy shrugged against Mark, the fingers of her left hand drawing mindless patterns over his right shoulder. “Do you want me to find out?” Mindy asked, still tracing scribbles.

“Nope,” Mark replied, “The world can go on without us for a little while, I think.”

Smiling, Mindy lifted her head from his shoulder to find his eyes. “I think they'll manage that.” 

Pressing a soft kiss to his lips was almost exhilarating now. The freedom of it, not to have anxiety or morals in her head telling her to stop daydreaming and get back to work. Just to enjoy the fact her mind was nowhere else, she gave him another. Mark’s left hand ran down her back as his right sat lightly at her jaw, keeping the kisses lingering. When they broke, Mark pushed a curl of hair behind her ear.

“Be honest,” He started, leading Mindy to ready herself, “Does it bother you?” 

Mindy looked lost for only a moment before she realised he was repeating his question from the night before in reference to the scar. She shook her head immediately. 

“No, I swear it doesn’t-” 

“It’s just that you had your hand over it when I woke up and just now, too, I just want to make sure-” 

“No, I promise it doesn’t bother me, it just makes me think of how much grief it gave you, how much trouble - but then, it kind of pushed us together so, that’s all, it just makes me think.” Mindy trailed off, repeating herself a little but not knowing what else to say. It was the truth, but it wasn’t a long truth. 

“As long as you’re sure.” Mark said, a warm hand squeezed at her hip and brought a smile to her eyes.

“I’m sure,” She started but her gaze wandered as she considered testing the water. “Can I ask a question?” 

“Yep, but here’s the answer; I put on pants one leg at the time, just like everyone else.” 

“That was not my question.” 

“It wasn’t?” 

“No, this isn’t an interview.” 

“Wow, sorry, just got caught up in my head there.” 

“Mhm,” Mindy indulged him, knowing he was only kidding her, “So, can I ask something or what?”

“Yeah, shoot.” 

“Was it sore?” 

Mark snorted and started to laugh and with it being so infectious, Mindy joined in despite her chastising him for doing so. “Don’t laugh, it’s a serious question!” 

“Okay, okay,” Mark let out another short giggle before answering, “Yeah, it was, but you know how it happened.” 

“Well, not really.” 

“‘Course you do,” Mark said, looking down at Mindy who was resting on his shoulder. “S’in all Lewis’ inquiry statements.” 

“I know, but that’s not your story.” 

“Oh, I see, you just want me to relive it?” 

“ _No_ , not if-” 

“It’s fine, I’m kidding, you know it doesn’t do anything to me now.” Mark’s hand ran over Mindy’s arm, reassuring her. “The sandstorm was so bad, we couldn’t see a hand an front of our faces and I only knew something had gone wrong when I woke up,” Mark continued to run his fingers slowly over Mindy’s arm as she listened. “I don’t even remember seeing the dish come at me.” 

“Yeah?” Mindy prompted as Mark stopped to think. 

“Yeah, when I woke up the beeping in my helmet was really confusing, I just kept trying to remember where I’d put the alarm so I knew where to fling my arm to turn it off, thinking I was back home or something,” Mark went on, “When I saw the sand, that’s when it came back to me - even when my helmet was still beeping I just thought, ‘why’s it daylight?’” 

“I didn’t see the wire when I tried to get up, but I was so strong and cool that I definitely didn’t scream a bit when I felt the aerial tug from the inside.”

Mindy nestled a little closer into Mark knowing that while this story had a happy ending (eventually), the start of it was painful for both of them.

“I waded back to the HAB after i cut the wire and that was when the fun began ‘cause I had to fish out whatever was left in me and stitch myself up - and honestly, I am not good at staple stitches so please don’t ever cut yourself bad because I am the worst - they were all over the place, I put in way too many and after a while they burst anyway.” 

“That bad, huh?” 

“They would’ve had the same effect if I’d just shot the staples out into the HAB for fun.” Mark said bluntly and Mindy smiled, “I mean, at least then I would’ve had some entertainment.” 

“So, I guess that’s why there’s this bit,” Mindy said, rubbing her fingers off the half-moon shaped gouge, “And then these bits.” Lifting her fingers she prodded gently at three minute scarred dimples above, below and to the upwards diagonal left of the main scar. Mark laughed and nodded, his brow raised in confession. 

“Yeah, see, s’all proof I’m a shit doctor.” 

“Well, I don’t think it’d be easy to operate on yourself,” Mindy said, defending him against himself. “What did Doctor Beck say about it?” 

“Well, Beck had a look and then asked how much damage I did to my eyes because I must’ve been blind when using the staple gun.” 

“I don’t think that’d be all he said.” Mindy pushed, getting used to Mark’s deflections.

“No, he said it was as best I could’ve done under the circumstances and I told him he needs to stock the HAB with better painkillers ‘cause the one I had didn’t kill anything,” Mark sighed, “But, that’s it, I’m pretty sure it was all caught on the video feeds anyway, I know when they burst it was on the log so if you’re into gore I got just the thing for you.” 

“No thanks, I don’t think I’d handle it well.” Mindy didn’t even consider the offer, not that it was real anyway. But, boyfriend, friend, colleague or none of the above, she would never be able to bring herself to watch Mark in pain, bleeding, and stitching himself up while being faced with his own death on Mars as a high possibility for the first time. “Like I said though, I’m just really glad you made it back, scars and all, and it doesn’t bother me - it just has a story attached to it that sometimes it’ll remind me of when I see it.”

“And that’s it?” 

“That’s it.” 

“Well, that’s good to know,” Mark decided as he shuffled beside Mindy, turning to face her rather than letting her lie on his shoulder, “I’ve got a few others I’ll show you later.” 

“No, no,” Mindy shook her head, putting her hand over Mark’s lips as he was leaning in to kiss her, “Scar stories now while we’re here.” 

“Mm,” Mark’s taste of displeasure at being sidetracked was short lived as he held up his right arm above them, showing her the inside of his elbow. “Fell off my bike in first grade and right into glass,” Letting his arm drop he pointed to a nick under his left ear, “Early days shaving incident,” Lifting his left hand, he extended his pinky to show a small dent in either side of the top of it, “Angry swan, Gorell Park.” 

“Angry swan.” Mindy repeated, trying to purse her lips to stop her laughing.

“ _Really_ angry swan,” Mark emphasised, “Do you feel sorry for me yet?” 

“A little bit, but first - how old were you when you got attacked by the swan?” 

“You’re asking as if I’m gonna say I was thirty - I was in third grade, okay?” Mark’s woeful look broke with a smirk that stretched to a grin as Mindy laughed. “Have I built up enough sympathy yet?” 

“Yes, you’ve built up enough sympathy.” Mindy conceded as she ran a light hand over his jawline to settle on his cheek, feeling so completely head over heels as she kissed him. His scars fell quickly to the back of her mind as she hooked a leg over his, following the signal from his wandering hand pulling her to do so. 

A breathy while later, she caught him eyeing the other side of her room.

“You getting up?” Mindy asked, ready to whine in complaint if he said yes and dared to shift her from somewhere so perfect.

“What, again?” Mark said, enjoying the wincing groan from Mindy who blushed and bumped her forehead off Mark’s chin.

“I'm gonna have to get used to a lot more bad jokes, aren't I?” Mindy thought aloud before settling back down on Mark’s left shoulder and folding her hair behind her ear. 

“Yep,” Mark confirmed with confidence, “But no, I'm not getting up and I have a reason for that.” His tone was playful, urging Mindy to ask him what his reason was. resting over his heart

“Okay, so why’re you not getting up, Mark?” Mindy obliged with a smirk, catching the mischief in his eyes as she glanced at him.

“Well, first of all, there’s nowhere better to be at all, ever, this is pretty much my peak destination,” Mark reasoned with a lift of his palm from the curve of Mindy’s hip. “Secondly,” raising two fingers from the same hand, “I know that if I get up, you'll be objectifying me.”

“I'll be objectifying you?” Mindy repeated.

“Yeah, you'll be watching my ass the whole time, I know the score here, Minds’, alright.”

“Okay, what if I promised to shut my eyes?” 

Mark snorted, the toying still ongoing. 

“Like that'll happen, besides I'm not self conscious of it, I just want a good review.”

“Oh,” Mindy expressed, enlightened. “I see,” She giggled at the thought as Mark watched her, an affectionate smile sitting at her lips. “So, like, TripAdvisor - five star service but a little vain.” 

“Wow,” Was Mark’s only comment before he laughed, “You're not meant to be funnier than me, that's my thing.” 

“Get used to it,” Mindy replied, quickly trying to get back to the point, “if you need to get up, just go, but you'll be coming back.” 

“Is that a threat?”

“It better be a promise.” 

Sealed with a hotter kiss, Mark brought his arm back from under Mindy and left her in bed with an affectionate kiss to her forehead. When he reached her bathroom he shouted back to her, his voice slightly muffled.

“Well? How was it?”

“Pretty great.” Mindy replied, unable to stop the grin rip across her face as she heard Mark laughing. 

Laying on her back, she stared at her ceiling and wondered how many more mornings would start not unlike today, how many more glances will he take of her that she would pretend not to see, and how many would she try to sneak of him before she was caught. Everything was still frightfully new and fresh, even calling herself his girlfriend still came with a bucketful of butterflies and it had been well over a week since those terms had been breached. It was a warm nervousness Mindy had, a summer heat in her heart that she was lifted by every time she felt it squeeze. And something in Mark’s eyes when she caught him looking at her told her he was feeling the same - not that she had to guess, he was transparent and told her anytime it came to mind just how easy he found it to fall for her. Head over heels and straight down a crater, he told her as Mindy couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes while trying not to lose her mind. 

She was so blissfully excited for any shared times to come for them she struggled to contain her glee. She caught herself smiling a little more, being more open, more affectionate towards Mark than she'd ever thought she would find herself with anyone, let alone after a couple of weeks. And, of course, more in love with him with every passing minute. Even if it hadn't been verbally stated yet, it felt as solid as an inevitability; it would be said eventually since the emotion of it was churning away already.

Out of curiosity while Mark was away, Mindy stretched over the edge of her bed to get her phone from her jeans pocket to check the time. It wasn't too late, only half eleven in the morning. The only thing that was on her mind was where Avie was, until she checked her phone to find a text from Claire. Since Mindy never told Claire if she was working today or not, Claire slipped in early, saw some ‘carnage’ in her lounge, grabbed Avie and fled. There was an apology in all capitals for interrupting, some blushing emojis and then a p.s to tell Claire everything later on now that there was no point in denying anything. Mindy swore softly under her breath in a vow not to tell Claire anything in fear she could actually embarrass herself into an early grave.

When Mark returned he pointed out towards Mindy’s lounge and kitchen, asking if she wanted anything, but when he realised she wasn't even stealing glances, he asked her if something was wrong instead.

“Not _wrong_ , just… Claire has Avie.”

“Oh, great.” Mark grinned, figuring it was more time for him to use if Mindy wasn't catering to Avie. 

“Not really.” Mindy almost whispered, eventually meeting Mark’s eyes. It was then that her panic started to ease, and in an odd twist of emotion, she started to laugh, covering her mouth with a hand as she did. “Claire came in this morning ‘cause I forgot to tell her if I was in or out, so she saw all the clothes everywhere-”

“Oh-”

“Yep.” Mindy’s giggling was past controlling before she straightened herself out and shrugged out a sarcastic ‘oops’ that made them both laugh. “It must be bad if she knew it wasn't just me being messy.” 

“I can't even remember-”

“I wasn't really paying attention to where things were going…” Mindy said quietly as she indulged in a technicolor memory as Mark put his head out her bedroom door into her lounge. His sharp intake of breath had her sitting up in alarm. “Is it that bad? Claire called it ‘carnage’ but I thought she was exaggerating.” 

“I don't even know how you managed to get my hoodie over the lamp beside your tv, but you did - four shoes, two jackets, my belt, my wallet and phone are on the floor… but so are all the cushions, the table’s moved, the rugs in a heap and I don’t think your sofa was at that angle before...” 

“Sounds a mess.” Mindy conceded, wondering what Claire’s face would have looked like in the moment. 

“Yeah, not quite a ‘disaster zone’, but it comes to mind…” Mark called through as he kicked some of their clothes into a more contained pile. “Huh, it’s only half eleven,” He stated after picking up his phone from under Mindy’s askew coffee table, and then tossing it onto her sofa with a smirk. “And I’m sure I can think of a better way to spend the time than tidying up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes it has been forever hello everyone gather round
> 
> so i wrote this part approx 3 days after i finished part 1 and then completely forgot about it. found it about a week ago and was like ......should i post this????? bc it doesnt really have a plot or anything, it's just them being soft but i supposed it is part of it, so i should just tag it onto the end. so i tidied it up and asked a pal to read it to make sure it wasn't horrible and here we are!! 
> 
> questions?  
> \- yes, i am still writing the other things, i just wasnt exactly "writing" them for a while, more like "thinking" about them. potato / potato  
> \- yes, i do have another fic almost finished and almost ready to post. this one is before they find mark but after he died.. it's actually really dark!! can't wait to give you guys it! it will fit into the spacesuits and satellites series and i hope you all understand that there is no such thing as a timeline in this series bc i cant just write in order that would be way too organised wtf  
> \- yes, one leg at a time, just like everyone else  
> \- yes, please let me know in the comments your thoughts about everything. i mean everything. this fic, these characters, the weather, favourite trees, anything
> 
> and thats it!
> 
> see you next time for the next leg!

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first of many oneshots!!!  
> I've had this one stored up for a long long time. I never found a good enough reason for Mindy to see the scar in the big fic so, here we are! mindy seeing marks scar was the only purpose of this fic (hence the brevity).  
> I hope you enjoyed it, even though i know it's short. I know a few people were asking for something a little more heated, so here you go. this is probably as heated as it's gonna get.  
> Anyways, you guys know the score by now; let me know what you all think!


End file.
